Trail Blazers at Celtics
The Boston Celtics try to recover from a bad loss when they cap a three-game homestand against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. The Celtics had won three in a row and seven of eight entering a matchup with the reeling New York Knicks on Wednesday, but surprisingly wound up on the wrong end of a 117-106 score.
Isaiah Thomas continued his scoring spree with 39 points Wednesday and is averaging 34.4 over a nine-game span. Boston's biggest issue remains its inability to keep pace on the boards as it was outrebounded 57-33 by New York and it entered Friday last in the Eastern Conference in rebound margin (minus-4.5). Since knocking off defending champion Cleveland earlier this month, the Trail Blazers dropped four in a row, falling 93-92 on Friday at Philadelphia on a late 3-pointer. Damian Lillard scored 30 points for Portland, which is averaging 96.8 points during its slide.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (18-27): The four-game slide has coincided with a sudden slump by guard C.J. McCollum, who scored at least 20 points in 10 straight games prior to the losing streak. He is averaging 18 points while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor in the four losses, bottoming out with a 5-for-18 effort against the 76ers. Fellow guard Evan Turner - who is making his first visit to Boston after spending the previous two seasons with the Celtics - was 2-for-10 from the field in his second start of the season.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (26-16): Guard Avery Bradley missed Wednesday's game and has already been ruled out for this one as he continues to deal with a nagging Achilles injury. Marcus Smart is Bradley's replacement but he is mired in a shooting slump that has seen him go 7-for-35 over the past four games. Thomas has gone the other route, averaging 37 points in the six games Bradley has missed.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thomas had 30 points and Smart finished with 15 points and a career-high 11 boards in the previous meeting, a 116-93 win by the Celtics at home last March.
2. Lillard attempted an average of 21.8 shots over the last four games.
3. Portland will be off for three days before beginning a five-game homestand Wednesday.